Pipe systems or cooling or heating elements are mounted on walls and, particularly, on ceilings of rooms which require only a small cooling or heating capacity. When operated, a heating or cooling medium, preferably a liquid, but optionally a gas, is conveyed through the pipe system. Since the cooling or heating capacity of such elements is often relative small, the pipe systems can be arranged behind a visible surface. In the case of drooped ceilings, cooling or heating registers, including conduits which lead from an inlet connection to an outlet connection, are, for example, laid onto the ceiling elements so that they lay on that side of the ceiling elements which is turned away from the room. In order to enable direct contact of room air with the conduits, the ceiling elements comprise passage openings. Air circulation, which enhances the desired heat exchange, will develop with cooling conduits, because the cooled air will sink down. With heating conduits, however, heated air will rise in the cavity above the drooped ceiling, and a circulation will develop in this cavity so that any heating effect to the room below will act from the cavity, thus not in an efficient way.
Apart from pipe systems on drooped ceilings, plaster ceilings are also known, into which pipe systems are incorporated. To this end, sandwich type boards coated with plaster are mounted on the ceiling or a structure drooped from the ceiling. A pipe system is adhered to the plaster surface, and subsequently as much plaster is applied so as to cover the pipe system. Pipe systems can also be adhered on walls and can subsequently be covered by a cast material. In order to cover the pipe system, much plaster has to be applied, which entrains correspondingly high expenses. In addition, adhering the pipe system is already expensive.
If the heating or cooling capacity required is small, it can, in some cases, already be done with a pipe system which extends over merely a small partial surface of a wall or ceiling. For mini-energy houses of wooden construction, for example, channels are milled into massive panels, and conduits are laid into these channels. The panels with the conduits or with a single snake-shaped conduit are inserted instead of a massive wall panel so that the smooth surface is facing the living or working room. This smooth surface is painted or provided with wall paper or cast material. Such panels, having a conduit inserted in a channel, can be mounted as ready-made elements so that at least adhering the conduits and applying a cast coating, which covers the conduit, is avoided. Where such a heat exchanger element is mounted, a connection facility to a supply conduit and a discharge conduit has to be provided. The conduits of the element are coupled to the connection conduits by connection pieces, for example split ring clutches. After that, the region of the connection conduits or connections are closed by a cover. These panels comprising the conduits inserted on their back side have various disadvantages, such as that they are only able to be tied up on small wall or ceiling areas. Moreover, they constitute a special design whose dimensions have to be adapted to the prevailing conditions. The cooling or heating calorific output has to be achieved through a massive panel which involves a reduction of efficiency. This reduced efficiency results in a reduced heat flux between the inner room and the heat exchanging conduits, the flux, in addition, being competed by an undesirable high heat flux through the wall.
From DE 196 36 944, a design in form of a sandwich structure is known where cooling pipe registers are inserted between two dry structural panels. These elements are installed side by side in a raster-like manner for providing a cooling ceiling. In order to connect the cooling pipe registers to a cooling circuit, a supply pipe, a discharge pipe and connection pipes are provided above the sandwich elements. In the contact region of joining elements, gaps will form at the lower side of the cooling ceiling which have to be troweled off or pasted over, if desired. These sandwich elements involve expansive mounting work, because they are heavy and need free space above the cooling ceiling to accommodate the above-mentioned pipes. Production of the elements is very expansive, because two dry structural panels have to be mounted in the desired distance to one another, and prior to this the cooling pipes have to be inserted. The sandwich structure requires spacers between the panels which act as a sound bridge so that sound from the ceiling is transmitted and can be dissipated again. Thus, for isolating sound, further elements have to be used.
DE 42 43 426 discloses a panel having inserted small pipes of plastic material which panel is produced in a mold. The casting mass for producing the panel consists of sand mixed with a liquid bonding agent. Producing the cast panels is very expansive, particularly because the pipes have to be held in position, while filling in the casting mass. In order to give the panels sufficiently high stability for transporting and mounting them, they have to have a minimum thickness which, with panels of larger dimensions, result in an undesirably high weight. In correspondence with the high weight, mounting them to a ceiling is expansive, and connections to the ceiling have to be provided which can resist high loads. Individual panels mounted on a ceiling or a wall appear to be a foreign-object. In addition, connecting conduits have to be installed in the region of such panel.
Document NL 1 016 946 discloses heat exchange panels comprising conduits which are embedded into a layer of material, such as plaster. In order to reduce the high weight of these massive panels, an embodiment is described wherein a stable frame is arranged at the back side of the material layer and the conduits. Isolating material can be inserted into the frame. Connection conduits lead high up, i.e. away from the main surfaces of the panel, so that the panels can only be mounted in a drooped manner so as to be spaced from the ceiling. In addition, the panels, even with a frame, are heavy and expansive in producing and mounting.
EP 0 997 586 A1 discloses wall elements which comprise panels having grooves and conduits, the conduits being inserted into the grooves and being surrounded by a layer of heat conductive mortar 4. The panels 1 consist preferably of concrete bound wood wool. These solid panels are expansive in production and have a high weight.
EP 1 004 827 discloses plaster panels comprising conduits and an isolating material attached thereon, for example glass wool. The conduits are either inserted into milled grooves of the plaster panels or directly during production of the plaster panels into liquid plaster. In order to ensure sufficient treating stability, the plaster panels have to be sufficiently thick in correspondence with their dimensions. The plaster panel together with the conduits are connected to a fibrous mat. Document DE 200 11 751 U1 discloses plaster panels comprising grooves and conduits situated therein. Mineral fiber boards are attached to the stable plaster panels. These plaster panel elements are heavy due to the relative thick plaster panels. In addition, production is difficult.
DE 41 31 797 describes elements comprising two plaster panels and an intermediate layer of heat conductive material and conduits. Towards the ceiling, an isolating layer is provided. Connection conduits lead high up from the element. The structure of this solution is very expansive and results in drooped ceilings of too much weight.